Pinterest Projects in Review

Colorful Stenciled Table

This was by far my biggest Pinterest project to date. I had a dining room table set that was given to me by a friend when I moved into my apartment. It was in pretty good shape, but the wood was a little light for my taste and it definitely needed to be refinished. So when I came across this idea on Pinterest, I figured I’d give it a try.

So here’s what I started with:

And now the worst part… Sanding!

Sanding by far took the bulk of time in this project. I used a 60 grain sandpaper and a combination of power sanding and hand sanding. (as you can see, I had to enlist some help from my brother on the chairs). This process took almost a full week since I was working on the table and all four chairs. If you were to just do the table, it would take much less time.

And now the fun part! Although I loved the paisley pattern from the original blog, I could not afford $55 for a fancy stencil and another $11 for shipping. So I hopped on over to Hobby Lobby and found a fun pattern that I liked and a paisley pattern for the chairs (the fabric was a bit of a splurge, but still on sale!).

I recovered the chairs first (since I could do that without disturbing my neighbors at the apartment complex). If you’ve never done it, it’s really very easy. A staple gun and a screw driver is all you need. Of course, I didn’t exactly do a “proper” job a recovering them (new batting and the whole 9 yards), but you get the idea.

Stencil time! About the only product I needed that I already had was white paint. Of course, it wasn’t exactly “white paint.” It was oil-based primer leftover from a previous project. I figured the oil-base would definitely grab on to the wood and create a texture that would be better for holding the stain. So I had a friend roll on this design for me while I painted the legs.

We made it a little easier on ourselves and did a random pattern.

And now, the staining! I used Miniwax Dark Walnut with a brush. This was also super easy. The only hitch we ran into is we decided to blot the stenciled design as we stained because it was getting very dark. I’m thinking this was a result of using primer instead of paint, but it worked out. It only took two coats.

We debated on dry brushing the legs with stain to give it a more subtle look, but I was too in love with the color to tone it down. (I LOVE COLOR!)

Finally, I used an amazing product called Polycrylic to seal the whole thing. I really took my time, let it dry completely, and put on several coats. I did two coats and sanded with a 400 grain paper in between on the chairs and table legs (VERY gently). The tabletop, however, got about 4 coats, for obvious reasons. This is a product I swear by! Very easy to use. Quick clean up. Great finish! The only issue I had was when I was coating the chairs, the product started to foam with all the brush strokes, so I had to make sure to clean that off before leaving it to dry.

Ta-da! The finished product! I’m quiet thrilled with the way it turned out.

So if you’re thinking about this project yourself, here are some things you should know:

This can become an expensive project very quickly if you don’t have a lot of supplies on hand. Having to buy stain, paint, Polycryclic, brushes, fabric, etc. easily added up to $100.

Sanding sucks! Okay, that’s a bit harsh, but it was dreadful. A power-sander made a huge difference, but I highly recommend starting with an unfinished table or recruiting a burly husband-type to do that part. Also, I did try a chemical stripper, but it was a complete bust. Another reason the cost added up so quickly.